My Edirol R-09 looks worse than Steve Bannon ;-) these days, so at some point I'll have to get a new solid-state recorder. Requirements:* 24/96* 3.5/6.3 mm microphone input* Portable* Also good for vinyl transfers

I'm looking at the r5, too, my d50 sony is getting long on the tooth. I think there's a lot of functionality on the r5 I'd likely not need, editing, reverb functions and all that, but looks to be a pretty decent rig, lots smaller than my sony, too. I like that it uses AA's instead of proprietary battery pack. Can continue using my rechargeables.

Do not under any circumstances buy garbage from Tascam. You will be sorry.

I'd recommend the Roland R-26. I've used it for both shows and vinyl transfers, and it's quite nice. Personally for a vinyl transfer I wouldn't want something that only had miniplug inputs, either.

That said, if you think the R-26 is overkill, the Roland R-05 will be a good, solid device that will be familiar to you as an R-09 user.

I'd disagree with the Tascam knock. I have lots of decks and lots of Tascam decks and have never had any issues with any of my Tascam decks.

Your system seems very good for vinyl transfers and most if not all the decks mentioned would work very well with very slight differences in the end sound. So it really will come down to what you like for ease of operation and transfer. Those Marantz decks you mention are excellent. I do not know if the PMD661 is the MKIII, but if it is, the major differences between that and the PMD551 is that the PMD661 has file encryption and slightly different dimensions, so the PMD551 is probably a better choice as it costs less. Once the presets are set, the deck is a breeze to use, but without utilizing the presets, there are a lot of choices to make before recording so I'd say take the time for proper setup, and it is a great choice.

I use the R-05 a great deal, but pretty much for low profile situations because it is small, works great and is easy to use.

I would think that transfer via RCA to 1/4" TRS might be a bit better than the 3.5mm option. You could then go line in with any deck that has combo XLR/TRS inputs. Personally I'd pick up a used Tascam HD-P2 which these days sells for a fraction of it's value used and I would go with that. It just has great control and functionality for setting levels and if you ever switch to digital output, it has the option to work as a digital in (or out for that matter) bit bucket. One possible negative for some would be that it uses CF (compact flash) cards rather than SD cards and they tend to cost more and are slowly being phased out, but if you have an older DSLR camera, then you likely would have some of these laying around. My HD-P2 which I admit does not see much field use these days because of its size, has never rejected a single CF card so I have used to pretty inexpensive brands from eBay and Amazon.

I cannot give you the right answer for a good reason in that again most decks will do a great job with your setup, so look for whatever setup or features you think will fit with your desired uses for the deck and your recording needs.

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Oddly enough the Marantz PMD-661 (indeed the mkIII) is the cheaper of the two, because it's priced at 50% off (as opposed to the PMD-551's 25%). They look a fair bit heavier than their "competitors", though.

Oddly enough the Marantz PMD-661 (indeed the mkIII) is the cheaper of the two, because it's priced at 50% off (as opposed to the PMD-551's 25%). They look a fair bit heavier than their "competitors", though.

Dumb/n00b question: "1/4" TRS" = standard 6.3 mm headphone jack?

There are no bad questions. You are correct. I'll confess I have never seen 1/4 inch it referred to as 6.3mm, which totally makes sense now seeing it, so that is good knowledge. And since we throw TRS and TRRS around frequently for 3/8 inch(3.5mm) and 1/4 inch, (6.3mm) here is what that means:trs and trrs are different.

trs is 3pole (tip ring sleeve) (typically seen as one black band)trrs is 4pole (tip ring ring sleeve) (typically seen as two black bands)

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I was using a PMD-661 OADE concert mod for analog transfers into 1/8" in.I've switched to using my Tascam DR-680 as it has the dual XLR/TRS inputs. I use a pre-made (store bought) RCA to 1/4 inch TS into the Dr-680.

Do not under any circumstances buy garbage from Tascam. You will be sorry.

I'd recommend the Roland R-26. I've used it for both shows and vinyl transfers, and it's quite nice. Personally for a vinyl transfer I wouldn't want something that only had miniplug inputs, either.

That said, if you think the R-26 is overkill, the Roland R-05 will be a good, solid device that will be familiar to you as an R-09 user.

^^^ What he said ^^^

Looks aren't everything, but if the display on the R--09HR is so far gone, there isn't much of a choice. I am so annoyed that they didn't use a better display that would last longer. An R-26 is a phenomenal machine that won't let you down. The R-05 is also great. As for the small Tascam recorders, I have had issues in the past, but only for field recording. I grew up on Tascam and TEAC and like the product, so I was disappointed that the build quality on these were so poor. I am not speaking about the recording quality, only cheapness of the build...like buttons & dials falling off! In all fairness, I have heard they made improvements, I'm just not willing to take a step backwards when I have better equipment now that I'm happy with. The M-10 is an awesome machine, and economical if you can find one. Given what you've said, I'd go with the R-26.

Maybe some of the other Tascam products came up short, but this is one of if not their latest and I still use it for situations when I'm unable to use my SD recorders.

As I wrote, "I have heard they made improvements.", and I meant that. The older ones were falling apart, but it is my understanding that they are better made now, and have been for a couple of years. I also stated, "I am not speaking about the recording quality, only cheapness of the build.", and I meant that too. They weren't bad recorders, but they would often fall apart. I also mentioned, " I have had issues in the past, but only for field recording.", meaning that since the OP is apparently using this at home, and not in the field, it may not be an issue for him. I personally have no need for another recorder, but because of my personal experience with the small Tascam digitals, I would stick with something I have not had issues with, like Edirol /Roland and Sony.

Build quality is very subjective. While some people are looking for solid build, others may be looking for something more light/portable.

While I've owned the Edirol R-1, R-09, and R-09HR and 2 of the Sony m10s, the Edirols were made of the flimsiest plastic I've ever felt.

I was a little surprised to see comments that Tascams have let people down on build quality due to my experiences with the Edirols and Tascam. I have no issues at all with the Sonys I own either (well except I always get nervous opening and closing the door to the miniSD card - that is flimsy).